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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale
Cognitive linguistics is the study of how people use language; how they
conceptualise, understand and later respond to the sentences and words they are
presented with. According to Ungerer and Schmid (2016, pp.1-3), in this field of
study, language is considered a mental phenomenon where much of what people
hear and say is processed and dealt with in particular extensive patterns inside the
minds of the people participating.
Within the field of cognitive linguistics there are various areas to study, and
one topic which is the subject of much linguistic research is that of conceptual
metaphors. Although many linguists have studied this particular topic, the theory
behind it was originally formulated in the book Metaphors We Live By (1980) by
the linguist Lakoff and the philosopher Johnson. In their work, Lakoff and Johnson
stated that conceptual metaphors are based on the notion that people describe
certain conceptual domains by properties and ideas connected to other conceptual
domains (p. 5). They also wrote: “Conceptual metaphors are seen in language in
our everyday lives. Conceptual metaphors shape not just our communication, but
also shape the way we think and act.” (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 16)
In literature, conceptual metaphor has long been acknowledged as an
indispensable device for the writer. It has been used with a primarily decorative
purpose to make writings more exciting and beautiful. Literature, especially poetry
without conceptual metaphor would become less imaginative and mysterious. The
use of conceptual metaphor is a way for the author to highlight and heighten
important themes. It serves to illustrate a point without coming right out and saying
it. It gets the reader to really think about something, to find new meaning in it and to
see it from a different angle. In other words, it is a tool to helps the reader visualize
images and enter a different sphere, a different way of thinking.
Together with music, poetry plays a vital part in people’s life. Under the
skillful pen of talented poets, every word of poems seems to be able to dance in the
reader’s eyes and mind. It wakens human beings’ senses up and makes them feel
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their heart sobbing. Poems likely have potential energy like a restorative remedy
which provides us with essential nutrients to strengthen and refresh our spirit, to
alleviate our sadness or pain, to save our soul, to raise us up when we are in
troubles. In this way, we can console ourselves and feel as if we found a
sympathetic friend. Moreover, through meaningful messages of verses conveyed,
the readers can learn some lessons about how to make their life more colorful and
beautiful.
For a long time, humans’ life has a very close connection with natural
factors such as river, mountain, mainland, sky, etc... Every phenomenon in nature
can become an endless inspiration for poets. And the sun is one among them. In
poets’ artistic eyes, the sun is not simply an object giving humans the source of
light, but an original poetic image. Beside praising the beauty of the sun, they intend
to convey different messages by using conceptual metaphor. Let us consider the
following example:
Em cu Tai ngủ trên lưng mẹ ơi
Em ngủ cho ngoan đừng rời lưng mẹ
Mẹ đang tỉa bắp trên núi Ka Lưi
Em ngủ ngoan em, đừng làm mẹ mỏi
Mặt trời của bắp thì nằm trên đồi
Mặt trời của mẹ, em nằm trên lưng
(http://www.thivien.net)

The author’s way of using conceptual metaphor in the above example is

extremely skillful and creative. The two parallel lines of verse (Mặt trời của bắp thì
nằm trên đồi / Mặt trời của mẹ, em nằm trên lưng) evokes a poetic and aesthetic
association. “Mặt trời của bắp” is the sun of the eternal nature, which brings light
and life for all beings as well as freshness for rice, corn, … From the image of the
universal sun, the poet associates with “mặt trời của mẹ” or “em Cu Tai” – the
mother’s child. The child is the mother’s sun, that is her happiness, pride and reason
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for living. We could call this the “SUN / MẶT TRỜI AS A PERSON” conceptual
metaphor.
Not only in Vietnamese, the conceptual metaphor of the sun also appears in
numerous poems in English. For instance:
But you don’t exist, nor have you ever done.
Born within my silence and despair,
From the Sun of my heart you were shining
Because everything we worship – we have created ourselves.”
(https://www.poemhunter.com)

In this example, the “SUN / MẶT TRỜI AS A PERSON” metaphor is also

found. But the sun here refers to the image of a beloved woman. She is compared as
a potential and warm source of light which shines the writer’s heart. He feels so
fascinated by this light that without it his heart is likely icy and cold, which means
that his life will become insipid and meaningless.
The difference in the poets’ perception in the above two examples is due to
their experiences of culture. Individualism is mostly seen in the cultures of Western
Europe and North America, whereas collectivism is mostly seen in the cultures of
Asia. Samovar, Porter, McDaniel and Roy (2015, p.198) expressed “Collectivistic
cultures emphasize community, collaboration, shared interest, harmony, tradition,
the public good, and maintaining face. Individualistic cultures emphasize personal
rights and responsibilities, privacy, voicing one’s own opinion, freedom,
innovation, and self-expression.” The different cultural backgrounds may influence
the poets’ cognition as well as language and literary reception. In Vietnamese
culture, hierarchism has been the most typical feature for thousands of years.
Family tie has been highly valued. Therefore, there has been a density of poems and
songs glorifying maternal and paternal love. Conversely, in Western culture,
egalitarianism has been a distinctive feature. People’s personal goals take priority
over their allegiance to the family. For that very reason, love poems and songs has
been popularly found in this culture.
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In fact, “sun” or “mặt trời” has become a delightful topic in both English
and Vietnamese poems. However, due to cultural diversity, there is a dissimilarity
in the use of the sun image in English and Vietnamese poems. As a result, I find it
interesting to study and explore what actually goes behind the words or phrases
related to “sun” / “mặt trời” in poems. This motivates me to conduct the research
titled “A Contrastive Study on Conceptual Metaphor of “Sun” in English and
Vietnamese 20th Century Poems”.
1.2. Aims and Objectives
1.2.1 Aims
The study is carried out with the aims of:
- Investigating the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in English and Vietnamese
20th century poems.
- Finding out the similarities and differences in the conceptual metaphor of
“sun” in English and Vietnamese 20th century poems.
- Helping learners have better understanding of conceptual metaphor used in
poems, then effectively apply them in their creative writing as well as in poem
translation.
1.2.2 Objectives
In order to achieve the above aims, the study attempts to fulfill the following
objectives:
- To describe the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in English and Vietnamese
20th century poems.
- To compare the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in English and Vietnamese
20th century poems.
1.3. Research Questions
With the aims and the objectives mentioned above, the study is to answer the
following questions:
1. What are the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in English 20th century poems?
2. What are the conceptual metaphor of “mặt trời” in Vietnamese 20 th
century poems?
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3. What are the similarities and the differences in the conceptual metaphor of
“sun” in English and Vietnamese 20th century poems?
1.4. Scope of the Study
This study investigates the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in English and
Vietnamese 20th century poems in the light of cognitive linguistics. Moreover, the
research tries to find out both similarities and differences in poetical conceptual
metaphor through the image of sun in these two languages.
1.5. Significance of the Study
The research is conducted with the hope that it could be a practical piece of
work to understand conceptual metaphor, especially the conceptual metaphor of
“sun” in English and Vietnamese 20th century poems. What is more, it is expected to
facilitate the readers’ understanding of the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in English
poems and “mặt trời” in Vietnamese ones. It could also help teachers and learners
of English teach and learn English poetry. Last but not least, it is hoped to be used
as a good reference for further studies of conceptual metaphor.
1.6. Organization of the Study
There are five main chapters in this study as follows:
- Chapter 1: Introduction - includes the rationale, aims and objectives, the
research questions, the scope of the study, the significance of the study and the
organization of the study.
- Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Background - presents
the previous studies which are closely related to the thesis and the theoretical
background of the study which gives definitions of conceptual metaphor,
classification of conceptual metaphor and metaphorical mappings.
- Chapter 3: Method and Procedure - describes the research design, the
research methods, the data collection, samples, instrument, the procedure of the
study, the data analysis and the reliability and validity of the study.
- Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion – aims at describing, comparing to
find out the similarities and differences in the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in
English and Vietnamese 20th century poems.
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- Chapter 5: Conclusion and Implications - gives the summary of what

has been drawn out from the study and some implications. This section will also
give some suggestions for further research.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 Literature Review
There is a plethora of research that has been carried out internationally to
investigate metaphor.
In Aristotle’s time, despite different viewpoints, classical theorists agreed
that metaphor is a matter of language, not a matter of thought and it was studied as a
rhetorical device which is not used in daily life. However, this traditional view of
metaphor has totally changed since Lakoff and Johnson (1980) put forward the new
view of metaphor from cognitive perspective in their book named “Metaphors We
Live By”. They argued that conceptual metaphor is pervasive in both thought and
language. They also collected a number of examples to show that our everyday
experience is strongly formed by metaphor and metaphorical concepts. Since then,
research on metaphor has shifted to a new direction known as conceptual metaphor.
Cognitive metaphor has been then developed in many studies. Lakoff and Turner
(1989) used metaphor to show how our mind gets hold of the world. Gibbs (2008)
discovered the significance of metaphor in language, thought, culture and artistic
expressions. Two years later, Kövecses (2010) summarized the theory of conceptual
metaphor as well as the development of conceptual metaphor in the past two
decades.
In Vietnam, even though cognitive linguistics has only appeared for more
than one decade, it plays an important part in linguistic development. A lot of
Vietnamese linguists and researchers have had great interest in conceptual
metaphor. Lý Toàn Thắng (2005) introduced the history of cognitive linguistics. He
also presented the differences in the world image from different cultures, cognitive
maps and a case study of notions of “ra-qua”, “trên-dưới”. Phan Thế Hưng (2007)
helped the readers to review the theory of conceptual metaphors initiated by Lakoff
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and Johnson. Trần Văn Cơ (2009) discussed the background of cognitive

linguistics. Besides, he explained the theories of symbolization and
anthropocentrism in cognitive linguistic system. Nguyễn Lai (2009) explained some
abstract concepts “misery”, “love” and “ideal” metaphorically expressed in poetry.
Phan Văn Hòa (2011) investigated the conceptual metaphor in “Love is a journey”
in English and Vietnamese.
In addition, many students have recently undertaken a large number of
research on conceptual metaphor. Nguyễn Thị Thanh Huyền (2009) conducted a
study on “Ẩn dụ tri nhận – mô hình ẩn dụ cấu trúc trên cứ liệu ca từ Trịnh Công
Sơn”. In her thesis, she demonstrated some different points of view of conceptual
metaphor in researching linguistics in Vietnam based on Trịnh Công Sơn’s songs.
Nguyễn Thị Tú Trinh (2010) investigated linguistic features of conceptual metaphor
of “life, death and time” in English and Vietnamese poems and songs in the light of
cognitive linguistics. In 2011, Hồ Trịnh Quỳnh Thư undertook a research on
conceptual metaphor expressing three concepts “love”, “life”, and “hate”. In her
research, she analyzed how love is conceptualized as the journey in English and
Vietnamese. What is more, Huỳnh Thị Minh Nguyệt (2013) carried out an
investigation into the conceptual metaphor used for describing happiness and
sadness in English and Vietnamese poems. In the same year, Trần Nữ Thảo Quỳnh
did a research to compare conceptual metaphor expressing love and hatred in Trịnh
Công Sơn’s and Bob Dylan’s songs. Later, Hoàng Nguyễn Tôn Ngân (2014)
studied Cognitive Metaphor Denoting the Concept of “Life” in English and
Vietnamese Lyric Songs”. Also, in 2014, Hà Nai Ly made a comparative study on
conceptual metaphor used in expressions denoting betrayal in love between English
and Vietnamese songs. Then, a contrastive study of conceptual metaphor related to
"Sea"/"Bien" in English and Vietnamese Songs was conducted by Huỳnh Thị Mỹ
Dung in 2015. Last but not least, Nguyễn Võ Thị Thu Hiền (2016) investigated
conceptual metaphor of “moon” and “trăng” in English and Vietnamese in the 19 th
and 20th century poetry.
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The above mentioned studies show that conceptual metaphor seems to be an

interesting topic for numerous researchers over the past years. However, it could be
realized that conceptual metaphor of “sun” has not been conducted yet.
Accordingly, I decided to do a research into conceptual metaphor of “sun” in
English and Vietnamese 20th century poems.
2.2 Theoretical Background
2.2.1 Metaphor
a. Traditional Metaphor
In Pre- Cognitive Period, linguists and researchers had numerous different
definitions of metaphor.
According to classical theorists in Aristotle’s age, metaphor is a stylistic
device, mostly used in poetry and music. This rhetorical point of view saw a
metaphor as a part of verbal persuasion. A metaphor was considered as a
substitution of words, means of an analogy between the substitution word and the
word being substituted. Hence, it was assumed to be an ornament of language which
conveys no new information.
The latter approach was taken by Richard (1936) and Black (1962), who
regard a metaphor as an interaction between a metaphorical world and its context.
They explained the mechanism of creating meaning. Black (1962) assumed that
many words have both literal and metaphorical meanings. The literal meaning of a
word is the most basic sense. A metaphorical meaning is when it is used to refer to
something other than this. After that, Reddy (1979) mentioned metaphor as the
transference of meaning from one object to another, based on the similarity between
the two objects.
There have been some Vietnamese linguists who also considered metaphor
as the transference of meaning; for example, Đinh Trọng Lạc, Nguyễn Thái Hòa,
Cù Đình Tú, Nguyễn Thiện Giáp, Đỗ Hữu Châu... Among these, Đỗ Hữu Châu
(1962) claimed that metaphor is the way of naming an object in terms of the name
of another, based on the similar relationship between them.
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Lakoff and Johnson (1980) gave a summary of metaphor in the pre-cognitive

period like this:
Metaphor is for most people a device of the poetic imagination and the
rhetorical flourish – a matter of extraordinary than ordinary language. Moreover,
metaphor is typically viewed as characteristic of language alone, a matter of words
rather than thought or action. For this reason, most people think they can get along
perfectly well without metaphor. (p.3)
b. Conceptual Metaphor by Lakoff and Johnson
This thesis is based on the framework of Lakoff and Johnson's theory of
conceptual metaphor.
Lakoff and Johnson developed the theory of conceptual metaphor in 1980 in
their book “Metaphors We Live By”. They assumed: “The essence of metaphor is
understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another.” (Lakoff &
Johnson 1980, p.5), and gave an explanation that conceptual metaphors are mostly
used to describe rather abstract conceptual domains with conceptual domains that
are somewhat easier to comprehend. They took some examples to demonstrate this
view as follow:
“ARGUMENTS ARE WAR”
“TIME IS MONEY”
“LOVE IS A JOURNEY”
In the example “ARGUMENTS ARE WAR”, the conceptual domain
ARGUMENT is described in terms of WAR, as in “I won that argument” (p. 4).
Similarly, in the instance “TIME IS MONEY”, TIME is described in terms of
MONEY; as in “You're wasting my time” (p. 5). Lastly, the example “LOVE IS A
JOURNEY” could show that the concept of LOVE may be easier for people to
understand when described in the terms of a JOURNEY; as in “We went our
separate ways” (p. 45).
Ungerer and Schmid (2006) defined the conceptual domains that are
generally easier to grasp as source concepts and the conceptualized more abstract
domains as target concepts (p.118). Kövecses (2010) had a clearer explanation that
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“the source domains are typically more concrete or physical and more clearly
delineated concepts than the targets, which tend to be fairly abstract and less-
delineated ones” (p.38). Accordingly, it could be inferred from the above examples
that WAR, MONEY and JOURNEY are the source concepts while ARGUMENT,
TIME and LOVE are the target ones.
Nevertheless, each target concept does not have only one possible source
concept, it can be described by several source concepts. For instance, LOVE IS A
JOURNEY is a very popular conceptual metaphor, but LOVE can also be described
by the source concept of WAR. Lakoff and Johnson explained that one can win an
ARGUMENT, one is likewise able to win someone's hand in marriage and fight for
someone so as to win their heart (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 49). Similarly, each
source concept is not exclusive to just one particular target concept. Beside the
above common conceptual metaphor “LOVE IS A JOURNEY”, there is likewise
another possibility: “ARGUMENT IS A JOURNEY” because one can arrive at a
conclusion in an argument. In this way, conceptual domains can be linked in
multiple directions and to numerous other conceptual domains even if they may not
be very close or generally connected by nature.
From Lakoff and Johnson’s viewpoint, conceptual metaphors are considered
as the means for understanding abstract conceptual domains more easily. Although
some people believed that such metaphors are simply used as rhetorical devices,
Lakoff and Johnson (1980) pointed out that metaphors are used continually and they
stated “our ordinary conceptual system, in terms of which we both think and act, is
fundamentally metaphorical in nature” (p.3). Not only is language structured in a
way where conceptual domains are explained by means of other conceptual
domains, but people use such expressions because they think in the same manner. In
addition, Lakoff and Johnson (1980) emphasized that the use of conceptual
metaphor is not always a conscious choice, but something used automatically (p.3).
They demonstrated that conceptual metaphors are such fundamental and deeply
integrated parts of language and thought. Thus, they are used so continually that
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people cannot realize it. This leads to the fact that describing one conceptual
domain via another may not be as uncommon as one first may think.
2.2.2 Classification of Conceptual Metaphor
According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), there are three main types of
conceptual metaphors: structural conceptual metaphor, orientational conceptual
metaphor and ontological conceptual metaphor.
a. Structural Conceptual Metaphor
Lakoff and Johnson (1980) considered structural conceptual metaphor as the
most popular. In this kind of conceptual metaphor, a complicated and abstract
concept is conceptualized based on the experience of a simple and specific one. The
former is called TARGET DOMAIN while the latter is called SOURCE DOMAIN.
According to Kovecses (2010), the source domain provides a relatively rich
knowledge structure for the target domain. In other words, this kind of metaphor
enables speakers to understand target A by means of the structure of source B.
Let us come back to the conceptual metaphor “ARGUMENT IS WAR” in
order to illustrate this type. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) gave a lot of the following
expressions in English:
 Your claims are indefensible.
 He attacked every weak point in my argument.
 His criticisms were right on the target.
 I demolished his argument.
 I’ve never won an argument with him.
 You disagree? OK, shoot!
 If you use that strategy, he’ll wipe you out.
 He shot down all of my arguments.
(Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 4)
Through these expressions, Lakoff and Johnson demonstrated that an
abstract conceptual domain “ARGUMENT” could be understood by means of a
specific conceptual domain “WAR”. The above expressions show that a lot of
actions that we perform when arguing are structured from the concept of war. While
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debating, the person that we argue with is considered as the opponent. Therefore,
we have to “attack” the opponent’s viewpoint to “protect” our opinion. We can win
or lose in an argument and we also use our strategies to win. It could be seen that
we have a battle of words through the words of war that we use even though there
are no casualties caused.
Besides, in structural conceptual metaphor, there is a phenomenon of
highlighting and hiding in the conceptual domain. For instance, in an aggressive
battle of words, people always concentrate on defeating their opponents’ opinions
and defending their opinion, so they cannot pay attention to the aspect of
“cooperation” in the battle of words. As a result, the aspect of argument is
highlighted and the aspect of cooperation is hidden.
b. Orientational Conceptual Metaphor
In orientational conceptual metaphor, a system of ideas is organized in the
relation and interaction in space like up-down, in-out, front-behind, shallow-deep,
center-periphery. This group is called the orientational metaphor because they are
related to the orientation in space. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) cited the example
“HAPPY IS UP, SAD IS DOWN” to clarify this type of conceptual metaphor
through some expressions as follow:
 I’m feeling up.
 That boosted my spirits.
 My spirits rose.
 You’re in high spirits.
 Thinking about her always gives me a lift.
 I’m feeling down.
 He’s really low these days.
 My spirits sank.
(Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 15)
The conceptual metaphor “HAPPY IS UP, SAD IS DOWN” is originated
from the human body postures while they are happy or sad. Usually, when people
are in a bad mood they often bow down, but when they feel happy they raise up
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their head and straight up their back. Hence, the orientational conceptual metaphors
are not arbitrary but they are based on culture and experiences. Also according to
Lakoff and Johnson (1980), the conceptual domain “up - down", “inside - outside”
are the spatial domain concepts in the materialistic world. However, the metaphors
based on these conceptual domains may change in different cultures. For example,
some cultures see the future as the front whereas other cultures see the future lying
in the back.
c. Ontological Conceptual Metaphor
Lakoff and Johnson (1980) propose that the conceptualization of our
experience under the conceptual domain of material or tangible things helps us
extract abstract experiences and ideas out and see them as objects or concrete
substances. Once we can conceptualize the experiences into a specific object or
material, we can classify, group, quantify them. Thus, we can reason about the
experiences. According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980), experience in an interactive
process with the specific object or substance is the foundation for a large number of
conceptual metaphors in which abstract entities, events, actions, activities, states are
considered as the essence. For instance, in the conceptual metaphor “THE MIND IS
A MACHINE”, human thinking – an abstract concept is seen as a particular object
(a machine). This is clarified through the following examples:
 We’re still trying to grind out the solution to this question.
 My mind just isn’t operating today.
 Boy, the wheels are turning now!
 I’m a little rusty today.
 We’ve been working on this problem all day and now we’re running
out of steam.
(Lakoff & Johnson, 1980, p. 28)
The above ontological conceptual metaphor allows us to focus attention on
different aspects of thinking. “THE MIND IS A MACHINE” tells us that thinking
can be seen as a machine operating under on-off mechanism. The machine can work
with high or low performance, can damage or rust and can use the fuel.
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Lakoff and Johnson state that this kind of conceptual metaphors appears
frequently and is used so popularly that people take them for granted.
2.2.3 Metaphorical Mappings
According to Lakoff and Turner (1989), a metaphor, after all, is not a
linguistic expression. It is a mapping from one conceptual domain to another, and as
such it has a three-part structure: two endpoints (the source and target schemas) and
a bridge between them (the detailed mapping).
A mapping is the systematic set of correspondences that exist between
constituent elements of the source and the target domain. Many elements of target
concepts come from source domains and are not pre-existing. To know a conceptual
metaphor is to know the set of mappings that applies to a given source-target
pairing. The same idea of mapping between source and target is used to describe
analogical reasoning and inferences.
Conceptual metaphor involves two domains: a source domain and a target
domain. The latter is understood in terms of the former, so the convention is to call
each mapping as “TARGET DOMAIN IS SOURCE DOMAIN” or “TARGET
DOMAIN AS SOURCE DOMAIN”. Let us consider LOVE IS A JOURNEY as an
example. We could see the structure of our knowledge of journeys and our ability to
map from the structured knowledge and the conception of life. The structure of our
knowledge of journeys can be seen as relating to different components such as
travelers, destination, vehicle, distance, and decisions. Kövecses (2010) clarified
this as follows:
JOURNEY LOVE

The travellers Þ The lovers

The vehicle Þ The love relationship itself

The journey Þ Events in the relationship

The distance covered Þ The progress made

The obstacles encounteredÞ The difficulties experienced

The decisions about which way to go Þ Choices about what to do

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The destination of the journeyÞ The goals of the relationship

(Kövecses, 2010, p. 28)

It could be seen that the constituent elements of the conceptual domain
JOURNEY are in systematic correspondence with the constituent element of the
conceptual domain LOVE. The application of the journey domain to love domain
provides the concept of love with this particular structure or set of elements.

3. METHOD AND PROCEDURE

3.1 Research design
In order to meet the set aims and objectives, the study uses both the
qualitative and quantitative approaches. Quantitative approach is used to present the
data in term of frequency of occurrence in percentage of the conceptual metaphor of
“sun” in English and Vietnamese poems. On the contrary, qualitative approach is
used to classify, describe and analyze the data with the aim at pointing out the
similarities as well as the differences in the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in English
and Vietnamese 20th century poems.
3.2 Research Methods
This thesis is mainly a descriptive and comparative research using both
qualitative and quantitative approaches. The descriptive method is used to describe
the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in English and Vietnamese 20 th century poems.
Meanwhile, the comparative method is employed to point out the similarities as
well as the differences in the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in these poems between
the two languages.
3.3 Data Collection
To conduct the research, 120 samples of the 20 th century poetical metaphor
of “sun” in English and 120 ones of “mặt trời” in Vietnamese will be collected. All
of these samples will be gathered from a variety of poems on different websites and
poem collections.
3.4. Description of Samples
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In the research, about 240 samples of conceptual metaphor (120 in English

and 120 in Vietnamese) of “sun” are gathered from English and Vietnamese 20th
century poems from poem collections and the Internet. They are collected on the
following criteria:
- The samples have to be related to “sun”/ “mặt trời”
- The samples have to be extracted from poems written by famous poets in
the 20th century
3.5. Instrument
To collect the relevant samples, many types of tools are used such as
Microsoft Word, Foxit Reader softwares as well as Google search engine. Beside
these instruments, tables will be exploited to support for the results of analysis and
the percentage.
3.6. Research Procedure
The study procedure will follow the following steps:
- Reading carefully the previous studies to choose the topic.
- Orientating the problems relating to the thesis.
- Reviewing the previous studies thoroughly and identifying the research
scope.
- Collecting famous English and Vietnamese 20th century poems from poem
collections, and from the Internet.
- Picking out 240 metaphorical expressions of “sun” from English and
Vietnamese 20th century poems.
- Analyzing the data and classifying them into suitable groups in terms of
conceptual metaphor.
- Describing the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in English and Vietnamese
poems in the 20th century.
- Making comparisons to discover the differences and similarities of the
conceptual metaphor of “sun” in English and Vietnamese 20th century
poems.
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- Evaluating and commenting the comparison results to draw conclusions of

conceptual metaphor related to “sun” in English and Vietnamese poems.
3.7. Data Analysis
This is a very important part which helps to point out the conceptual
metaphor of “sun” in English and Vietnamese 20 th century poems. It comprises the
steps as follow:
- Investigating poems written by famous writers in both English and
Vietnamese poems to look for the samples containing conceptual metaphors of
“sun”.
- Describing qualitatively and quantitatively the data collected.
- Analyzing the conceptual metaphor of “sun” in English and Vietnamese
based on the schemas of conceptual mapping.
- Comparing and finding out the similarities and differences in the
conceptual metaphor of “sun” between English vs. Vietnamese 20th century poems.
- Finding out the factors affecting the way to form metaphorical images of
“sun” in English and Vietnamese 20th century poems on the basis of the collected
data and materials.
3.8. Reliability and Validity
In terms of reliability, the poems used for analysis are mainly derived from
the collections of famous poems by well-known writers and from the credible
websites on the Internet. In addition, any quotation in this thesis is cited exactly
from the origin with the name of authors, the time, the place of publication and the
page number. The quality of the data is therefore reliable. Moreover, the findings
and conclusions in the study are drawn from the analysis of frequency of samples
and proofs concerned without any prejudices and presuppositions. Hence, the
objectivity of the study is assured.
In terms of validity, the samples containing conceptual metaphor of “sun” are
quoted from the authentic sources as mentioned above. All collected poems and
samples in this thesis could be representative. In addition, the analyses in the study
 18

have always been conducted in the theoretical framework to ensure the quality of
the study.

4. A PROPOSED OUTLINE
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale
1.2 Aims and Objectives
1.2.1. Aims
1.2.2. Objectives
1.3 Scope of the Study
1.4 Research Questions
1.5 Significance of Study
1.6 Organization of the Study
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1. Literature Review
2.2. Theoretical Background
2.2.1. Metaphor
a. Traditional Metaphor
b. Conceptual Metaphor by Lakoff and Johnson
2.2.2. Classification of Conceptual Metaphor
a. Structural Conceptual Metaphor
b. Orientational Conceptual Metaphor
c. Ontological Conceptual Metaphor
2.2.3. Metaphorical Mappings
Chapter 3: METHOD AND PROCEDURE
3.1. Research Design
3.2. Research Methods
3.3. Data Collection
3.4. Description of Samples
3.5. Instrument
 19

3.6. Research Procedure

3.7. Data Analysis
3.8 Reliability and Validity
Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1. Conceptual Metaphor of “sun” in English and Vietnamese 20 th century
poems
4.2. Similarities and Differences of Conceptual Metaphor related to “sun” in
English and in Vietnamese 20th century poems
4.2.1. Similarities
4.2.2. Differences
Chapter 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
5.1. Conclusions
5.2. Implications
5.2.1. Implications for Teaching and Learning English through poems
5.2.2. Implications for Translating poems from English into Vietnamese and vice
versa
5.3. Limitations
5.4. Suggestions for Further Research

REFERENCES
IN ENGLISH
Black, M. (1962). Models and Metaphors: Studies in Language and Philosophy.
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Gibbs, R (2008). The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Hà, N. L. (2014). A Comparative Study on Conceptual Metaphor Used in
Expressions Denoting Betrayal in Love between English and Vietnamese
Songs (M.A Thesis). Vietnam: University of Danang.
 20

Hồ, T. Q. T (2011). An Investigation into Conceptual Metaphors Expressing Love,

Like and Hate in English and Vietnamese (M.A thesis). Vietnam: University
of Danang.
Hoàng, N. T. N. (2014). A Study on Cognitive Metaphors Denoting the Concept of
“Life” in Lyric Songs in English versus Vietnamese (M.A thesis). Vietnam:
University of Danang.
Huỳnh, T. M. N. (2013). An Investigation into Conceptual Metaphors Used for
Describing Happiness and Sadness in English and Vietnamese (M.A thesis).
Vietnam: University of Danang.
Huỳnh, T. M. D. (2015). A Contrastive Study of Conceptual Metaphor related to
"Sea"/"Bien" in English and Vietnamese Songs (M.A thesis). Vietnam:
University of Danang.
Kövecses, Z. (2010). Metaphor: A Practical Introduction (2th ed.). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live by. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
Lakoff, G. & Turner, M. (1989). More than Cool Reason: A Field Guide to Poetic
Metaphor. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Nguyễn, V. T. T. H. (2016). An Investigation into Conceptual Metaphor of “Moon”
and “Trăng” in English and Vietnamese in the 19 th and 20th Century Poetry
(M.A thesis). Vietnam: University of Danang.
Nguyễn, T. T. T. (2011). An Investigation into Linguistic Features of Conceptual
Metaphor in English and Vietnamese (M.A thesis). Vietnam: University of
Danang.
Reddy, M. J. (1979). The Conduit Metaphor - A Case of Frame Conflict in Our
Language. Metaphor and Thought (pp. 284-310). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Richards, I. A. (1936). The Philosophy of Rhetoric. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
 21

Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., McDaniel, E. R., & Roy, C. S. (2015).

Communication between Cultures. Nelson Education.
Trần, N. T. Q. (2013), Conceptual Metaphors Expressing Love and Hatred in Trinh
Cong Son’s and Bob Dylan’s Songs (M.A thesis). Vietnam: University of
Danang.
Ungerer, F. & Schmid, H. J. (2006). An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics. New
York: Longman.

IN VIETNAMESE
Đỗ, H. C. (1962). Giáo Trình Việt Ngữ (tập 2). Hà Nội: NXB Giáo dục.
Lý, T. T. (2005). Ngôn Ngữ Học Tri Nhận – Từ Lý Thuyết Đại Cương đến Thực
Tiễn tiếng Việt. Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh: Nhà xuất bản Phương Đông.
Nguyễn, L. (2009). Suy Nghĩ về Ẩn Dụ Khái Niệm trong Thế Giới Thi Ca từ Góc
Nhìn của Ngôn Ngữ Học Tri Nhận. Tạp Chí Ngôn Ngữ, (10), 1-11.
Nguyễn, T. T. H. (2009). Ẩn Dụ Tri Nhận - Mô Hình Ẩn Dụ Cấu Trúc trên Cứ Liệu
Ca Từ Trịnh Công Sơn (Luận văn thạc sỹ). Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh: Trường
Đại học Khoa học Xã hội và Nhân văn - Đại học Quốc gia Thành phố Hồ Chí
Minh.
Phan, T. H. (2007). Ẩn Dụ Ý Niệm. Tạp Chí Ngôn Ngữ, (7), 12.
Phan, V. H. (2011). Ẩn Dụ Ý Niệm “Tình Yêu Là Cuộc Hành Trình” trong tiếng
Anh và tiếng Việt. Tạp Chí Ngôn Ngữ Và Đời Sống, (9), 15-19.
Trần, V. C. (2009). Khảo Sát Ẩn Dụ Tri Nhận. Hà Nội: NXB Lao Động – Xã Hội.

SOURCES OF DATA
WEBSITES
https://www.poemhunter.com
https://interestingliterature.com
https://www.poetrysoup.com
http://www.netpoets.com/poems/
http://www.thivien.net.
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http://poem.tkaraoke.com